wireless for synths

[lsj]

any suggestions on a wireless system to hook up stereo out of my line mixer, which I have synths plugged into, into two channels of my mixer in my music room.  my music room is small, 11 by 12.  will I have any problems with wifi in my computer.  thank you in advance.

[cphollis]

Not inherently difficult, but expensive -- and doing so will introduce significant latency and jitter delivered to your mixer in your music room.  Wifi and bluetooth are fine for streaming music.  If you're synchronizing with something (musician, tracks, etc.) you won't be happy with the result.

[SamuelBLupowitz]

Yeah, MIDI over bluetooth is quite wonderful, but audio over bluetooth has significant latency (for example, next time you're listening to music off your phone on your car stereo wirelessly, see how far ahead the actual track playback is to what's coming out of your car speakers {but not while you're driving, please}).

 

Could you describe your music room setup for us a little more? Another recent thread had some enticing stereo wireless solutions for live use, but in-studio, wired will almost certainly be more reliable. Understood if you're trying to cut down on cable spaghetti, though!

[bfields]

Bluetooth or wifi won't work, right, but there are systems that will do the job with adequate latency, usually marketed for guitarists: https://www.sweetwater.com/c995--Guitar_Wireless_Systems

 

I don't know if any of them handle stereo.  I suppose you could just hook up two of them?  Yes, in theory, interference with wifi can be an issue, depending on the technical details.  In practice I don't think it's likely to be a problem unless there are a ton of wifi networks visible from your music room.

 

The transmitter in all the systems I've seen is battery-powered, so you'll be spending a lot of time swapping batteries.

 

Wireless is great for live use with microphones and portable instruments, but I'm not sure why you'd want to use it at home.  Separate control room and you don't want to make holes in the wall, maybe?  If you can share what problem you're trying to solve, I bet people would have more ideas.

[bfields]

7 minutes ago, bfields said:

I don't know if any of them handle stereo.  I suppose you could just hook up two of them?.... The transmitter in all the systems I've seen is battery-powered, so you'll be spending a lot of time swapping batteries.

My bad, the Klark Teknik transmitter and receiver mentioned in this previous thread are stereo and don't use batteries:

 

[lsj]

5 minutes ago, bfields said:

Bluetooth or wifi won't work, right, but there are systems that will do the job with adequate latency, usually marketed for guitarists: https://www.sweetwater.com/c995--Guitar_Wireless_Systems

 

I don't know if any of them handle stereo.  I suppose you could just hook up two of them?  Yes, in theory, interference with wifi can be an issue, depending on the technical details.  In practice I don't think it's likely to be a problem unless there are a ton of wifi networks visible from your music room.

 

The transmitter in all the systems I've seen is battery-powered, so you'll be spending a lot of time swapping batteries.

 

Wireless is great for live use with microphones and portable instruments, but I'm not sure why you'd want to use it at home.  Separate control room and you don't want to make holes in the wall, maybe?  If you can share what problem you're trying to solve, I bet people would have more ideas.

I have 14 synthesizers in my music room.  my mixer is on one side of the room and my other synths going into the line mixer is on the other side.  I can reach the mixer from the line mixer with a 20 foot cord.  unfortunately it goes right over the bench and pedals on my hammond organ.  kind of don't want that.  my only other option is to run cords behind and around my hammond using a Di box and longer cables.  was wanting the easier wireless if possible.

 

[D. Gauss]

buy this or similar (there's tons). just run a single ethernet cable for 4 channels. no latency. easy peasy.

https://www.amazon.com/LyxPro-4-Channel-3-Pin-Network-Breakout/dp/B07T92D5X4/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=xlr%2Bover%2Bcat5&qid=1687274559&sr=8-1-spons&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

 

 

 

[Tom Williams]

I spent the first decade of this millennium doing wireless consulting.  I have a maxim:

• Use fiber when you can.
• Use copper if you can't.
• Use radio waves only if you must.

Your best bet by far is to go with either a pair of XLR cables (you can daisy chain them for length) or a mini snake.  Especially since everything is in a fixed location. 

 

That said, if you really want to go wireless, go with one of the current legal VHF bands (somewhere around 600 MHz if I remember right) and, like others have said, never never never use bluetooth nor any other 2.4 GHz radio.  There's just too much going on in that band to be able to trust it for high quality audio.

 

[Jose EB5AGV]

The RF license free bands are internationally known as ISM bands (Industrial Scientific and Medical). In USA they are available in 900, 2400 and 5000 MHz, so your best bet if in USA is 900 (really 902 to 928 MHz)

For other countries, look for the ISM bands allowed there.